CD Kaplan

Then known as Chuck, CD Kaplan’s career of wordsmithery began when he won the fourth grade spelling bee at Longfellow Elementary. To this day, he doesn’t understand how he ended up in the slow English track at J.M. Atherton High School.

After being hit head on by a car while jogging in 1990, he eschewed the private practice of law, evolving into a juvenile court prosecutor, a part-time professional writer, and his full-time alter ego as the Culture Maven.

His love of music began at age 12 in Bernie Rosenthal’s den, when he heard Over the Mountain (Across the Sea) by Johnnie & Joe.

While matriculating in college in rural Virginia, his love of film germinated when, instead of studying, he saw every movie that played at the town’s only two theaters.

In addition to his weekly Culture Maven on Culture essay every Saturday at 11:30 a.m. with James Bickers, he posts his curmudgeonly opinions on matters of movies, music, manners, societal mores and pop culture at culturemaven.com.